Mar 2, 2015

This Is How Some Overpayments Happen

Social Security has created a "Work Site", a website that's supposed to encourage return to work but it includes no information on how a disability recipient is supposed to notify the agency if he or she has returned to work. You're supposed to call the agency's 800 number but given the wait time on those calls, many claimants get frustrated and give up.

I looked into this because I just had a former client tell me he had called to tell Social Security that he had returned to work part time. He was told that since he was only earning $800 a month that it would be no problem. He received no written receipt of his report of return to work even though he called twice. That's wrong. He should have gotten a written receipt, especially since his Trial Work Period has now begun. There's no lower limit on earnings that are supposed to trigger the issuance of a written receipt.

10 comments:

Anonymous
said...

After taking a few overpayment cases from the initial reconsideration request through ALJ hearing, I get the feeling that nobody really knows how the work incentive rules work.

Beneficiaries have told me that they absolutely told the field office they were working and no record was ever made or ever appeared in the file. That's a loser in front of a judge, and folks get hit with tens of thousands of dollars in overpayments.

The looming threat of an overpayment due to an administrative miscalculation is a terrible disincentive to work.

I was threatened with jail time for overpayments to me. A month before I got the notice of overpayment I got a $1,000 check for alleged underpayments from Social Security. That means 4 weeks after I got a surprise $1,000 I had not asked for I got a bill for more than $13,000 in overpayments. I was not penalized in the end but it was terrifying while I waited for resolution.

In my experience SSA offices routinely give out incorrect information, especially on trial work period where claimants are actually ineligible but are told they have 9 or 10 months regardless. A receipt, certified letter, and/or fax confirmation receipt are the minimal level of documentation a claimant should obtain when informing SSA of work activity.

For years, I have advised my clients to document in writing discussions like this with SSA. I tell my clients to send a letter or note to SSA by certified mail. The letter or note should state the beginning date and other details regarding their job, etc.

I don't know if anyone has ever followed my advice. I have however, dealt with a number of claimants who had oral communications with SSA that were not documented.

it isn't a mistake, it's a "I have numerous huge piles of paperwork to file, and on any given day my marching orders dictate that a certain pile or piles must be given priority (and many piles never are priorities)" problem. There is just so much work for my operations side (field/district) office brethren and sisters.

Because of the chaos and the severe effects the problems cited above cause so many beneficiaries, I advise my clients to not even attempt to return to work UNLESS they are very certain that they will be able to make a successful transition and will be able to go off disability. I hate doing it, but I've seen too many clients shafted by the system for trying to do the right thing. The disincentives are too big!

I tell clients and potential clients to go to their local office to report work.

This way, at least they have a paper trail showing they were in the office reporting their work. I hate making more work for the local offices and making my clients wait, but there is no way to verify phone reports.